Matthew Young

Name: Matthew Young

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: Aurora High School

Hobbies and Interests: Scouting, Music, Orchestra, Religion

Appearance: Matthew is very solidly built, standing 5'10" and weighing 185 lbs. While he has a good amount of muscle on him, the best way to describe his overall form is simply bulky. His build is top-heavy, with long arms and torso and shorter legs, and quite thick all around. His face is rounded and boyish, with soft features and thin lips. Pale blue eyes sit beneath thick eyebrows arched in a way that seems to suggest a constant state of mild surprise. Light blond hair in close-cropped style covers his head, though he keeps his face clean-shaven. His skin shows clear evidence of his outdoor activity, tanning fairly heavily during the summer and retaining some of that tone even through the winter.

Matthew's style of dress is generally dull, modest, and utilitarian. He sticks with a simple T-shirt and long pants during the summer, adjusting for winter simply by throwing on a jacket and switching out for warmer pants or more weather-resistant shoes. On the day of the abduction, he was wearing a blank white T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and gray running shoes.

Biography: Matthew was born and raised in Seattle, the fourth of five children for his parents, Isaac and Melissa, both employees of a local law office who met during their schooling and eventually married in the Seattle Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Religion has been a major part of Matthew's life since the very beginning, shaping his beliefs, values, and attitudes, as well as influencing his friends and acquaintances. He has grown up surrounded by fellow members of his local congregation of the LDS church, and much of his early socialization took place in the halls and classrooms of the local meetinghouse, both on Sundays and during church-sponsored activities on other days of the week. Most of his longtime friends are fellow members of various ages and grade levels, who he has known and spent time around since birth. Though the weekly meetings overstretched his patience by a considerably margin, he did enjoy socializing and singing along in primary. Despite the boredom, he took his Sunday school lessons to heart, and shortly after his 8th birthday, he was baptized as a member of the Seattle Fourth Ward.

In general, Matthew's early childhood was quite normal, and he grew up in tight contact with his siblings. Most days were spent with Ashley and Jennifer, the oldest, in charge as they babysat their younger sisters while their parents worked long hours to support them. While they served as distant role models, his brother David, the middle child, served as a much more direct one. Though just two years older, he took the role of a mentor, instructing Matthew and the youngest sibling, Benjamin, in all his childish knowledge. Matthew, in turn, aspired to serve as an example for Benjamin just as David served for himself. Under these circumstances Matthew grew up healthy and well-adjusted for the most part, though he did develop quite a noticeable independent streak. With both his parents spending most of their time at work and having five children to split their attention, Matthew would often act out at home as a way to draw attention to himself. He also felt some pressure from the strict standards of behavior set by his religion, and felt some natural rebellion in that regard. His behavior was generally within acceptable limits, however, and his independent nature remained a personality trait rather than a cause for concern.

Upon entering first grade, Matthew was entered into the Cub Scout program under his ward's local troop. It was a natural move; both his older church friends and his older brother were already participants, and there was plenty of encouragement from parents and church leaders. He participated eagerly, excited to join David in scouting and enjoying the chance to socialize further with his friends from church and participate in the various activities the program offered. He worked hard at it, earning himself various decorations and seeking to top David's successes while getting a taste of hiking, biking, swimming, and other activities at home or with the troop.

Despite his occasionally rebellious nature, Matthew's relationship with his family has always been a tight one, and his parents have provided a stable and loving environment for all their children. For him, imitation was the most sincere flattery, and three older siblings left him plenty to imitate. One such opportunity arose late in elementary school. Over the years, he had cultivated something of a fondness for music, dating back all the way to singing time in church as a Sunbeam. When he reached the grade where his school began offering an orchestra class, he jumped at the chance. Partially out of admiration for his older siblings, and partly out of convenience, as his oldest sister had recently grown into a full-size version of her instrument, he picked up the viola and began practicing it frequently. His parents supported him strongly, believing in personal improvement and a well-rounded education as core to life, though on a day-to-day basis their insistence on a strict practice schedule would sometimes cause him to instead slack some in response.

Not much changed in Matthew's life as he transitioned into highschool until one event early on in his freshman year. He embarked on a fairly lengthy hike with his scout troop, which had become somewhat lax overall in terms of safety protocols due to a combination of trust, a good past record, and general complacency. The group gradually split and splintered further without the leaders deliberately keeping the party together, with Matthew in the front. While forging onwards, head down, he inadvertently missed a turn and began hiking down the wrong trail. He came to another juncture and split off again, recalling instructions to turn at the first opportunity. As the estimated arrival at the troop's destination was later in the day, it was nearing nightfall when Matthew finally became convinced that the distance he'd covered was more than he had planned for. By that time, with the light fading and his fatigue growing, making it back to the intended campsite was out of the question. A search was put out by the troop, but the lack of light, branching trails, and huge distance between them made it fruitless. Matthew spent the night alone and with only the stakes and rain fly for the tent he'd intended to share. In the morning he resumed threading back down the trail, eventually meeting back up with a pair of fellow scouts as they continued their search for him. The immediate fallout of the incident was relatively mild. Matthew himself was unharmed, and no formal search parties had been called in yet. As the incident was mostly his fault, the leaders were reprimanded but spared any serious consequences if they agreed to enforce safety tightly going forward. In the long term, Matthew was left with a valuable lesson learned. From that time, his rebelliousness has tempered considerably, and while his independence remains, he is both humbler in general and more respectful of authority.

Despite that experience, his love for scouting remained untempered. He successfully completed his Eagle Scout badge, replacing some signage along the trail he'd gotten lost on as his project. Graduating into Varsity, Venture, and High Adventure groups has increased the scope of his activities, and he spends much of his time planning, preparing, and participating in events ranging from rock climbing to archery and fire-making competitions. His parents have supported him even as the scope and risks of his activities have grown. While they aren't totally unaffected by that fateful hike, they do trust Matthew deeply in return for his meeting their expectations in other areas of his life. The relationship runs both ways, with Matthew appreciating his parents' leeway and his parents happy to see him stick within what boundaries they have set.

Moving forward into the rest of his highschool life, Matthew has gradually matured and mellowed out while enjoying all his old hobbies. His grades have improved somewhat as he now tends to pay more attention in class, but he still hovers right on the edge of the honor roll. His circle of friends has expanded greatly, both from mingling with students drawn into Aurora from other middle schools and because of his improved, easygoing attitude. Most of his close friends remain fellow members of his church, but he does now have a wide pool of acquaintances. He continues playing the viola, though he hasn't shown as much promise as his truly dedicated peers and doesn't count on pursuing a musical career. Religion remains a primary motivator in his life, and he has dedicated himself to waking up well before school in order to attend an early-morning seminary class throughout highschool. He looks towards serving as a full-time missionary, but hasn't yet put in his papers.

Advantages: Matthew has a very fit, powerful body used to outdoor activity like hiking and climbing. He also has a good knowledge of survival skills and techniques and an agreeable disposition.

Disadvantages: Matthew's strongly religious upbringing poses a serious obstacle in bringing himself to actually kill or seriously wound anyone. Most allies he'll have to earn, as many of his closest friends are at a different grade level.

Designated Number: Male student No. 060

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Designated Weapon: iPod filled with nothing but Justin Bieber, old model with no wifi connectivity

Conclusion: Wait a minute, who the hell put my- I mean... Get a load of this guy - he's got all the skills you'd look for in a strong player, and the attitude of a pussy. He can survive the elements, but won't survive the game, 'specially not with that draw. - Elias Östberg

'The above biography is as written by Rattlesnake. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: Rattlesnake

Kills: None

Killed By: Claire Monaghan

Collected Weapons:  iPod filled with nothing but Justin Bieber, old model with no wifi connectivity (designated weapon)

Allies: Joey Grey

Enemies:

Mid-game Evaluation:

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Matthew, in chronological order.

V5:
 * Don't Know How to Have Fun
 * Nowhere to Go
 * Many of Horror
 * Babette's Supper Club

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Matthew Young. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''


 * Matt's nice to read, if just for the prose. In a way...it's kind of like a good painting. You can stare at it all you want, for sure. It won't change, it won't move, it won't matter to a lot of people, but it's still kinda pretty. -- Un-Persona